Retracing the Footsteps - Peter Ramm

In April 2012 Reg Yates and I explored one of the southern routes used by Lark Force as they attempted to escape from the Japanese in 1942.

I had two uncles in Lark Force, Don and David Smith, my mother’s brothers and I was interested in see how hard things might have been for them. Neither returned having lost their lives on the Montevideo Maru and so I had no first hand accounts of their journey.

I’d walked with Reg before and greatly respected his knowledge of military history. He was therefore an ideal travelling companion.

Our journey started in Rabaul, a town which is located in picturesque setting surrounded by hills and volcanoes. We did a couple of short walks there. One was over the North Daughter, the largest hill to the north of Rabaul. From the top we had superb views of Rabaul and the harbour. Another was to Matupi, the volcano. It was quite an adventure, paddling across the bay in a dug out canoe before ascending to the top and looking down into a spectacular, steaming, crater.

Our walk proper started near Riet, about 40 km south of Rabaul and continued to Toll. The jungle was pleasant and had lots of birds including parrots and hornbills. We stayed in villages where there were villages and in the bush where there were none. Both were good and interesting. The villagers were very interested in who we were and what we were doing. They (every one of them it seemed) shook our hands as we were leaving their village. In one they also put on quite an elaborate dance for us.

The bush camping was more basic, but quite comfortable. We even had eels a couple of mornings, freshly caught and stewed with bush vegetables.

The walk demonstrated to me, in a very real sense, the difficulties faced by my 2 uncles and the rest of Lark force some 70 years early. Not only was the country tough, but they had no plan for a withdrawal, and little or no food, clothing or medical supplies. All very different from our well organised walk. So whilst I found it challenging, I can now imagine how much harder it would have been for the soldiers.

We ended at Toll. It was moving to see the simple monument to the massacre of 160 Australians and from it to look out to jungle where they were killed.

We stayed in Rabaul for ANZAC day. There were 3 services, the Dawn Service, another at the Montevideo Maru Memorial, and third at Bita Paka war cemetery. Each was supported a guard of the local police and a wonderful choir. Each service was different and all were excellent; a fitting tribute to our soldiers. I had the privilege of wearing my uncles’ medals at each.

All up, a wonderful trip, a great adventure, and I now have a better understanding of the difficulties faced by Lark Force.

Peter Ramm

Another Satisfied Customer - John Redmond

David, Clodagh and my trek leader Reg Yates,

A big thank you for a safe and well organised trip from Owers' Corner to Kokoda arch, and a special Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel day at Kokoda - something I will never forget!

To have a leader like Reg Yates with his expert info of all the battle sights and his tactics employed by our Aussie boys and the fanatical fighting Japanese.

To actually stand on the battle sites and think what they went through to save Australia.  Long live the history of the gallant 39 Battalion and all who followed.

The service provided by Reg at Brigade Hill was special to me and moving beyond all expectations because it was my 3rd time on the track - my 60th birthday at Brigade Hill in 2008 and doing it again in 2009 and now in 2011.

If I completed my first trek with Kokoda Historical I wouldn't have had to do the track in 2 consecutive years. The knowledge I saw on the track matched what I had read in all my books - this completed my journey and dream!

We got all the history and lived our dreams out there - In the mud, the torrential rain, the heat, the mosquitoes, the sand flies, sleeping on the floor etc...
The kids all along the track love it when you pass through there village (a special moment, especially when they received the gifts I brought for them - they are all so happy and they have nothing.

The personal porters on the track with you are friends for life Mark, Johns Ford, Joel and the "life of the party" Zorro - they are our Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels they are there at your worst and also at the end of the line.  They are a caring bunch of guys! Job well done

Kokoda Historical is highly recommended!

LONG LIVE THE 39TH BATTALION

John Redmond

Director, Redmond Repetition

Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel Tour Nov 2011

"Wonderful experience" - Graham Rosengreen & sons

"Once in a lifetime opportunity"- Summer Lynch

For me, it was a no-brainer - when I decided to trek the Kokoda Trail in the footsteps of my Great Grandfather Jim Cowey MC, I would be mad to trek with anyone BUT Soc Kienzle! Soc is the son of Captain Bert Kienzle, a man so pivotal to the Australian success in the Owen Stanley campaign due to his intimate knowledge of the Trail (and it's many off-shoots) yet more importantly his affinity with the local people, who he would organise to carry essential supplies, the sick and wounded, and the hopes of Australia on their caring shoulders.

Soc himself grew up on the Kokoda Trail and has a relationship with the local people built on mutual respect and shared experience. As he grew, the battlefields were Soc's playground and like a sponge he soaked up his father and other eye witnesses first-handaccounts of the events of the war against the invading Japanese.

Soc's knowledge of the Trail and the Owen Stanley campaign is unsurpassed, gleaned from primary sources, life experience and being passionate about getting the history absolutely correct - this distinction sets him apart from others in the “Kokoda Industry”. On a personal level, Soc is a very caring and compassionate man who has the health and safety of his trekkers utmost in his mind, but also a cheeky sense of fun that certainly pushes you through those bloody hills. At the end of each long, hard day, you still have a smile on your face, which speaks volumes of the morale he fosters in his trekking groups.

On my trek, I also witnessed the marriage between Soc/Komplete Kokoda and Kokoda Historical as being a very happy and productive one.

Gary from Kokoda Historical is indeed a fine historian, and his passion for the history of the Kokoda Trail and it's many players is unquestionable. With his intimate knowledge of the Diggers from both immediate contact and relationships fostered with the families left behind, he also brings a palpable, moving human story to the facts of the war.

In spite of my screaming lungs and aching feet, I thoroughly enjoyed my trek with Soc and Komplete Kokoda/Kokoda Historical. I learned so much about the history, and also myself from the experience. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn from a Kokoda Trail legend, and I will never, ever forget it.

Insight into Kokoda Historical Trekking!

Read their story at http://the-track-kokoda.webs.com/

We have just received feedback from one of our latest groups that recently completed the Kokoda Track. This group of Australians from all over the country came together for an ANZAC pilgrimage that they will never forget. For people who would like to gain a better insight in to the great adventure and historical experience that Kokoda Historical offers please visit an independent website put together by the above mentioned group.

"So charged after the trip" - Shane Aubrey

I want to thank you (David) for a fantastic trip, your entertainment and knowledge of the battle sites was of the highest professional standard I have encountered for many a year. The trek was without question the hardest and most exciting, thrilling trip I have ever been on and I have been on many deployment etc.

Without a doubt we all have a much higher respect for the diggers who served on the track. What those guys endured we will never fully comprehend. To have a taste of what life must have been like, puts our normal dull life back into perspective and something that will always remain with us.

I am so charged after the trip, I feel that I need to go on another adventure ASAP. David, thank you and your troops, they are all excellent ambassadors for your company and it shows that you have a well trained crew of professionals.

Shane Aubrey, July 2009 
Business Development Manager